For a couple of weeks there has been speculation that the presidential and mayoral campaigns of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidates in Panama received money–up to US$6 million–from David Murcia Guzman, who was last year caught in Panama after his pyramid scheme in Colombia was exposed. Today, the incumbent PRD’s presidential candidate–Balbina Herrera–claimed that she took [...]

Earlier this month, the Carter Center and Transparency International released a report (spanish) on transparency of political finance in several Latin American countries. The Carter Center’s press release begins:
Berlin / Panama City – Political party and election campaign financing is a murky field in eight Latin American countries, according to a study released today by [...]

Panama’s National Assembly passed two new electoral laws to close 2006, the first of which reapportions electoral districts, the second of which includes many regulatory changes including 1) a requirement that parties have primaries for the election of presidential candidates , 2) a measure to allow Panamanians abroad to vote in elections, 3) changes to the [...]

The Panamanian legislature is considering electoral reforms that include limits on campaign periods and the disclosure of financial contributions. Currently, political parties who receive state subsidies must disclose their electoral expenditures, but they do not have disclose the amount and identity of any private contributions they receive (the Electoral Code requires parties and candidates to register [...]